SUNDAY, Dec. 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) — If you’re a patient with a weakened immune system, roll up your sleeves to stay safe over the holidays and winter months. “Immunocompromised patients absolutely should get a flu shot as well as an additional COVID-19 vaccine dose,” said Dr. Marwa Kaisey, aContinue Reading

MONDAY, Nov. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A defect in the blood-brain barrier may play a role in Parkinson’s disease, a groundbreaking research study suggests. The blood-brain barrier acts as a filter to keep out toxins while still allowing the passage of nutrients to nourish the brain. This study foundContinue Reading

MONDAY, Nov. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Physiotherapist David Putrino was working on a vibrating glove to help deaf people experience live music when a friend mentioned that the same technology might stop tremors in people with Parkinson’s disease. Putrino, director of rehabilitation innovation for Mount Sinai Health System inContinue Reading

MONDAY, Nov. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Hospitalized COVID-19 patients who take medications that suppress the immune system don’t have a higher risk of severe COVID-19 than those with normal immune systems, a new study finds. Early in the pandemic, it was feared that people taking immunosuppressive drugs were atContinue Reading

FRIDAY, Nov. 19, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Guidelines for treating movement problems in people in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease have been updated. The new treatment recommendations from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) focus on dopaminergic medications, which increase dopamine levels or mimic dopamine effects. Parkinson’s is aContinue Reading

THURSDAY, Nov. 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Here’s some comforting news for people who struggle with inflammatory bowel disease and worry that the immune-suppressing drugs they must take might blunt their response to COVID-19 vaccines: New research finds vaccination triggers a strong immune reaction in these patients. “At eight weeks,Continue Reading

THURSDAY, Nov. 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) — An experimental gene therapy to boost the effectiveness of the Parkinson’s drug levodopa yielded promising results in mice, researchers report. As the loss of dopamine-releasing neurons advances in late-stage Parkinson’s, levodopa is less able to ease movement problems caused by the disease, whichContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Transplant patients and certain other folks may need four shots of COVID-19 vaccine for optimal protection, new research suggests. People with weakened immune systems who’ve received both doses of two-dose COVID-19 vaccines aren’t adequately protected against severe illness. They should be given aContinue Reading